It was my decision to take a timeout today and discuss something other than X’s and O’s, umpire rulings, hirings and firings and sporting scandals and move onto something infinitely more serious than anything to be found in the adult play room: Huntington’s disease.

I wear a Huntington’s Disease Society of America band around my wrist to honor Ramona Johnston, wife of Chargers publicist Bill Johnson, who more than a decade ago was stricken with this horrific, little known neurodegenerative disorder. A wonderful woman, wife and mother, Ramona, who continues to fight the brave fight, and her husband works tirelessly — everything from running marathons to putting on fundraisers — to raise money to find a solution.

The wrist band is a part of me, and it works, because so many people ask me what it stands for. It stands for Ramona, and everyone else afflicted with this damn thing. I’ll take it off when a cure is found. If I die first, it still will be on my wrist.

HD is a “hereditary, degenerative brain disorder that results in the loss of cognitive, behavioral and physical control.” There is no cure, and the children of those afflicted have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the gene.

I bring this up now because Friday night the 2010 Celebration of Hope Gala to benefit HDSA will be held at the downtown Hilton Bayfront. CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will be featured and, according to Bill, they’ve outdone themselves this year with auction items (take it from me, it’s pretty amazing).

Even when the Chargers are doing well, which they aren’t right now, all we hear about is the bad, but the organization does plenty inside the community. Club President Dean Spanos and wife Susie have thrown their weight into this cause, as have some of the players, including tight end Antonio Gates (who will be honored at the gala) and guard Kris Dielman.

Gates, in fact, puts on his successful Shoot for the Cure HD basketball night at Chargers Park every offseason to raise funds for a disease few people knew about before Ramona. I sure didn’t. Nor did the Johnstons.

“The San Diego chapter of HDSA was almost nonexistent then,” Bill says. “Now it’s the largest in the country.”

The Spanos family went a long way to making sure that happened.

“The genesis of it is Bill, and Ramona, who’s still suffering from the disease, and we’ve been involved every year since 2000,” Dean says. “It’s double jeopardy, like a combination of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It’s about as devastating a disease as you can get, and you can pass it on to the next generation.

“I remember when Bill first came to me and told me, ‘Ramona’s sick. She has Huntington’s disease. I don’t know what to do. I know nothing about it.’ But he also said he was going to learn and do as much as he could, and he has. Bill’s very stubborn and very determined. He’s a doer.

“We’re involved in a lot of charities, but this one is closest to home. It’s the Charger family. It’s more personalized.”

Gates can’t do enough to help. And he isn’t about to stop.

“Just being around Bill and ’Mona,” Gates says. “I have the ability to reach out to people and tell them about this disease. I always wanted to be different. I just wanted to help in some way and, now that I’ve been a part of it, it’s touched me in ways I couldn’t imagine.

“I’ve always felt as though I’ve been blessed and that I can help in other ways outside of sports. That’s where you get the most satisfaction, helping others.”

And that’s exactly how Dielman feels.

“I’ve been here eight years, so I’ve been involved for eight years,” Dielman says. “I’d met Bill’s wife, but back then you couldn’t tell she had the disease. Now I’ve seen it firsthand since, what it does to your body, and the people around you.

“Everybody hears about cancer and other diseases, and they’re all bad, but not many know how bad this is; it doesn’t get a lot of attention. This is a good one to get involved in. It’s the least we can do.”

I have seen Bill on stage, holding up Ramona, who now is confined to a wheelchair, stoically asking for help for the mother of his children, the love of his life, and the 30,000 others in this country stricken with HD. I have told him he’s a better man than I, and he is.

Other than give, this is all I can offer. And it isn’t enough. This monster is one bad, loitering savage.